Method for equalizing the voltage of traction battery modules of a hybrid electric vehicle

摘要

The battery is made up of series-connected modules. The method is performed by a programmed processor, and includes while the vehicle is in operation, sensing the voltages of each module under conditions approximating a selected load condition. A representation of the sensed module voltages is temporarily stored. Some of the voltages are sorted into an ordered ranking. A high module is selected from the ranking which has a stored sensed voltage near the maximum of the ranking. A low module is selected from the ranking which has a stored sensed voltage near the minimum of the ranking. The high module is partially discharged, and the energy made available by the partial discharging is coupled to charge the low module.